Book report
by theraincanttouchus
Summary: Seto's class is assigned to read a book at the beggining of the year, and they must read the same book at the end to see how has their perception changed. In the mean time, Seto gets to know Kisara and a friendship grows between them. (Warning for mentions of abuse)
1. Birth and growth

So, I'm officially Blueshipping trash, no news there.

This is probably the most random plot I've written and Idk how I feel about this style. But I hope you like it.

* * *

Seto watched as the battery icon on his pad blinked red. His classmates' voices surrounding him as background noise. Today, they were explaining their book reports.

"Asakawa Kisara, you're next." the teacher, a middle aged woman, announced. A pale girl with white hair stood, her blue skirt waving with the movement.

She fidgeted with her report, eyeing the floor. Her eyes briefly switched to the class, stopping on Yugi, who gave her a small nod, and Bakura; he gave her a thumbs up and she smiled taking in a deep breath.

Seto looked back to his desk, thinking about all the things he'd have to do today. How he needed to inspect how was the new Kaibaland running and how were the others doing.

He let Kisara's voice wash through him. It was a melodious sound, sweeter than the previous person's voice had been. Part of his brain registered her book was about two people who fell in love, just to be separated by life and war. He didn't pay attention after that. It was so cliché, so meaningless what these people found captivating.

"Why did you choose this specific book, Asakawa?" The teacher's voice brought Seto out of his thoughts.

When he looked up again, Kisara was standing at the front of the classroom. The sunlight bounced off her hair like a halo, her eyes were kind and open, blue to a point Seto didn't think naturally possible. Kisara was facing forward, giving the impression that she was looking at him. It was stupid he knew, they had interacted a total of three times. But for a moment, if felt like she was.

Kisara bit her lip, her lip gloss fading in that section before she licked them, making it even again. "It seemed as the fittest, giving the purpose of the report."

"And why is that?"

"When I first heard about this story, my first thought was, 'why would anyone willingly submit themselves to this?' but when you explained that we'd read the same book again at the end of the year to see how our perception of it had changed I decided it was the right book for that." She skimmed through her report, her cheeks a light pink "I think it's one of the saddest stories I've ever read. But the second half is what made it perfect for this task." Her eyes went back up, settling on something behind Seto. She seemed to be fighting back tears and, for a moment, Seto wished to know what her book was really about. "The protagonists lived a beautiful, fateful love during four years and eight months. During these less than five years, they felt happy and invincible, but then they suffered for a decade. One of them died afterwards and the other was left to mourn his lover for the rest of his life. And all I could think was 'Was it really worthy? Was it worthy to have milkshakes and beaches and love during less than five years, just to end up crying yourself to sleep during the rest of your life, as short or as long as that might be?' I think that it's because I've never experienced that kind of deep love, or maybe I'm just lacking the skills to know what the author's intention was. Either way I think that my opinion on it could change by the end of the year. That's why I chose it." Kisara turned to the teacher, she had a small smile on her lips and Kisara reciprocated it easily.

"Thank you, Asakawa."

"Thank you for your attention." Kisara bowed to the class.

"Bakura Ryo, you're next." The teacher announced.

Seto saw as Kisara and Bakura hi fived each other, a fond smile on their faces.

-o-o-o-

Seto sat at the last row, which gave him a perfect view of Yugi's gang, much to his dismay.

They'd lost the hour before lunch due to the teacher falling through the stairs. According to the class president it wasn't a big fall, just the couple final steps; but he still had gone home for the day.

Seto had spent it advancing on the things he had to do today so he could go home earlier and spend some more time with Mokuba

The gang, on the other hand, had spent it entranced in a duel between Yugi and Jounouchi. The blond had, predictably, lost.

"I want to try it." Kisara asked shyly.

Jounouchi turned to her with a smirk "You wanna duel me, Kiss?"

Seto frowned at Jounouchi's need to bark at every tree. Even though, if rumours were true, he was head over heels for Kujaku. Not that he paid them attention.

Kisara chuckled, a blush spreading through her face "No, I actually wanted to go against Yugi. If you don't mind."

Yugi shook his head "Not at all." He said smiling.

Kisara nodded nervously.

Seto had never seen the girl on a duel; he hadn't known she even owned a deck. He observed as the duel progressed. Kisara was good, really good if Seto was being honest. It surprised him, especially considering how shy and sweet the girl usually was.

Yugi managed to win, but not without struggle. His precious Black Magician rested on Kisara's field, and most of his cards were on his graveyard.

Kisara didn't seem upset at her lost; she just smiled stretching her hand to shake Yugi's. Yugi's eyes were glued to the field, like he was going over what had happened, obviously surprised. Her stretched hand woke him up and he returned the smile after a couple seconds, shaking Kisara's hand.

Seto felt Kisara's eyes on him. He realized that, at some point of the duel, he'd walked to stand behind Yugi's desk to have a better view of the duel. He looked into Kisara's warm eyes. There was an amused shine on them; her cheekbones were more noticeable due to her smile; a small wrinkle on her nose split the bridge of freckles scattered on it.

Jounouchi snorted after noticing him. "Enjoyed the duel, Kaiba?"

"I really hope you did." Kisara answered honestly before Seto had the chance.

Seto nodded, "You're good." The way her eyes seemed to look inside his very soul made him feel uncomfortable, but he was trapped, unable to turn away.

"Thank you." Kisara said, her blush turning into a bright red as the others gaped at him. Everyone except Ryo, who just looked at them happily.

-o-o-o-

"I'm pretty sure that's not the past tense of Teach." Kisara told him. She was leaning on Seto's desk, her hair tickling the back of his hands.

They were doing a small tale that was due for the end of the hour for their english class. The teacher had requested pairs and, since Bakura was home sick, Kisara had asked Seto.

 _"_ _As long as you don't hold me back." He'd said._

 _Kisara'd snickered "I'll try."_

"I think it's Taught." Kisara supplied when Seto had only stared at the sheet of paper in front of him.

Seto blinked at it, his handwriting staring back at him. _'I like how you write'_ Kisara had told him, her blush making her freckles stand up.

He erased the word, replacing it. Kisara brushed the residues, her small hand cupping them to dump them in a small bag on her desk.

Their tale was the first one to be finished, so one of them had to read it to the class.

"A toss?" Seto offered, even though he didn't feel like reading it out loud, however she'd come up with most of it.

Kisara shook her head. "You wrote it, I'll read it." Seto opened his mouth to argue but she just hushed him. "If you really want to pay me, you can read the next time." The implication of them working together again shocked him enough that by the moment he was going to argue again Kisara was already at the front.

She kept her eyes on Seto as she read and Seto held her gaze.

-o-o-o-

"Can you believe Tsukino-sensei actually fought Mizuno-sensei in front of everyone because Mizuno-sensei scheduled his test on the same day as Tsukino-sensei's forum?" Kisara asked Seto. She was leaning on the locker next to him as he took out his stuff, getting ready to go home.

Seto shrugged, looking for his spared pencil, since the last one had finally died.

"I think it was unethical of him." Seto replied.

"I think it was cheap." Kisara blurted. Her cheeks grew red as Seto turned to her, with a raised eyebrow "I mean he knew that she was making that politics forum and that all the teachers had given us their permission to go, and he just… he deliberately decided to change his test to that same day, when we had agreed on another one since the start of the month." Kisara stammered. She bounced her left foot on its tip, the ball of it hitting the locker at its right.

Seto smirked at her "So you think he's cheap?" he teased.

Kisara shoved him on the shoulder "You're so mean." She said, her face red as a tomato.

Seto laughed at it. Kisara was really white, even whiter than her friend Ryo, and it was so obvious when she blushed. It was adorable when she was all flustered.

Seto stopped at that. His mind seemed to just hit the brakes so fast it made him dizzy.

He thought Kisara was adorable. He, Seto Kaiba world-class duelist and CEO, thought that his classmate and recent friend was adorable.

Seto stared at her. Kisara had a bright smile on her face, like she often did when they were together, but right now it looked brighter, her eyes shining with a great fondness- it almost looked like something else, and for a moment Seto entertained the idea that maybe it was. He absently traced the wrinkle of her nose with his fingers, starling her.

Kisara looked at him her eyes wide open and her mouth ajar.

"You wrinkle your nose when you smile." Seto said as explanation, feeling his own ears grow hot.

Kisara looked down, worrying her bottom lip. "I… I didn't down." She put her fingers where Seto's had touched her, feeling the warm of it.

"It's sweet." Seto put his head inside his locker, pretending to keep looking for his pen, while he waited for his face to cool down.

-o-o-o-

"I don't understand; why do you have all these books on your office?" Kisara asked. She was sitting on Seto's couch, her stretched legs almost reached the opposite armrest.

"They're Mokuba's." Seto replied without taking his eyes from the screen. "He used to come here to make me company when we were younger."

Kisara scaned the books. "Why did he stop?"

Seto smiled to himself. His eyes went through Kisara, taking the sight in front of him in. Kisara had rolled down her socks due to the summer heat, revealing her pale and smooth legs. Her skirt reached to the middle of her thighs and she'd taken off her school shirt, a tank top covering her chest and stomach. It was blue and sheer and it made too many things to Seto for him to just keep working.

He stood up from his chair, making his way to his girlfriend of a month. Kisara looked up at him with open eyes; this time he knew it was something stronger than just fondness that made them shine. Seto stood next to her, suddenly struck by how beautiful she was.

"I've got you." He whispered, kissing her.

It was as if it were the first time he did it. Kisara shivered as his tongue traced her bottom lip and he sighed as she placed her hand on his face, gently caressing it.

Kisara moved so Seto could sit on the armrest. She laid her head on his lap, playing with his right hand.

"So he doesn't like me?" she said playfully.

"As if." Seto watched as Kisara traced the lines of his hands. "He adores you and you know it. He's just been wanting to involve himself more with his place as vice president and learn about other departments."

Kisara hummed in response, kissing the palm of his hand.

-o-o-o-

Seto watched from the end of the couch as Kisara and Mokuba played dance revolution. The wind on the outside wheezed almost as loud as the game itself.

He observed as Kisara's legs moved through the steps, her hands moving in sync with the music. The swirl of her hair made him smile, he loved Kisara's hair, the way it framed her figure; how it felt when she straddled him making her hair fall on his arms, tickling his sides; how it moved with her right now.

"Really?" Mokuba pouted "I lost for 50 points, how's that even possible?"

Kisara laughed "You're amazing Mokuba." She raised her fist and Mokuba met it with his own. "I just happen to be better." She winked.

Mokuba poked her sides making her laugh more "One day, Kiss, one day I'll find a song you can't do and I'll beat you in it."

"I don't doubt it." Kisara's eyes followed as Seto stood and went to her. She caressed his neck, slowly moving to his cheek, and Seto marveled at her for the hundredth time.

She was breathing fast, the small hairs closer to her hairline where plastered to her face with perspiration, her cheeks colored.

Seto leaned into the touch. Kisara's caress always made him feel warm, loved.

There was a clicking sound followed by a flash. They both turned to see Mokuba, his eyes on his cellphone. "Awww you're adorable, I need to show this to the others." He grinned and Seto walked forward trying to take the cellphone from him. Mokuba ducked him, laughing his head off.

"Mokuba, I swear." Seto said, trying to catch the running kid.

"Mokuba, here." Kisara yelled, opening her hands when Seto was about to grab him.

The kid didn't even hesitate, throwing the phone to his brother's girlfriend. Kisara caught it in her hands. "Awww we do look nice together." She squealed at the picture.

"Told you so."

Seto walked to her, his hand extended. Kisara smiled innocently, before throwing the phone back to Mokuba when Seto was just a step away from it.

After ten minutes of chasing them, Seto decided to just tackled the next person who got the phone. It happened to be Kisara, and he took advantage of the fact she was right next to the couch to tackle her. He turned so she'd fall above him. Kisara laughed harder as his arms tightened on her sides. Seto had discovered she was ticklish during one of their make up sessions and he planned to take full advantage of it.

Soon enough Mokuba joined, the phone forgotten on the floor.

Kisara grabbed Mokuba by his wrist, pulling him to her so she could tickle him in retaliation. Seto just went along; it had been a long time since Seto had heard Mokuba laugh that much.

-o-o-o-

The winter was settling, Seto noted. The windows of the classrooms were constantly frozen, sometimes even covered with snow. Seto looked at Kisara, who sat one row in front of him and one to the left, as she talked to Ryo about something.

Ryo shoved at her arm and she laughed, pointing at his blush. He knew they were good friends, they'd suffered the same kind of bullying due to their appearance and they were both in love with weird, creepy things. Still, he couldn't help but feel a spark of jealousy as he looked at them.

Kisara stood suddenly; she told them she was going for a snack. Seto thought of joining her but she just waved him off, saying something about not wanting to bother him. She was off the room before he could say anything else.

"She really likes you." Ryo said. It seemed to draw everyone's attention to him and Seto rolled his eyes.

"And what? You're going to give me the don't hurt her speech?"

Ryo shook his head "I know you don't want to hurt her."

That made Seto's head snap up. He was NOT that easy to read. Ryo just stared at the window, his lips pursed in a frown.

"You're not _that_ much of an asshole now that you're together." Jounouchi said in the most nonchalantly way he could. He looked down into Seto's eyes, letting him know that he was being honest. And, truth being told, Seto really felt better now that he was with Kisara. He felt lighter.

"You two are really cute together." Yugi added with a smile. He was turning on his seat so he could see Seto better.

Seto scoffed at them, he concentrated on his tablet while everyone was nice enough to pretend not to notice his flush.

* * *

This is the first. tomorrow I'll put the second one.

It's already written because this was supposed to be a one-shot but I got overly excited.

This is the first time I try this style so please tell me what you think about it.

I hope to see you in the next chapter.

Love you. See you then.


	2. Decay and rebuild

I hate this chapter, I wrote it the same day as the other(as I said it was supposed to be a one-shot) but Idk. It has more connection with the last paragraph of the first one, so try to remember that one. This is partially based on a personal experience.

I'll hope you enjoy it.

* * *

The thing about getting used to things is that, you can get used to almost everything quite fast, but breaking the habit takes forever.

Seto looked at his phone for the twelfth time that hour. Kisara hadn't called, she hadn't randomly appeared in his office to brighten up the day, she hadn't even texted. And it was fine, really, because Seto understood that Kisara also had things to do, and that she (probably) didn't spend the entirety of her day thinking of Seto and doing things with Seto in mind. Which was fine because Seto understood that she was an independent human being, really!

But it had been three days with Kisara not calling him and a week of her not initiating a single one of their conversations. And Seto knew he couldn't expect her to _always_ initiate things between them, but didn't she understand that he was a busy man?

He got tired around eight pm and decided to call her, to tell her that he had way too many things to do for her to actually go with a 'If he really loves you, he'll reach out for you every once in a while' mood, or whatever this was.

The phone didn't even ring, though, it just sent him straight to the voice mail. Seto frowned, this was the first time since he knew Kisara that she had her phone turned off.

He tried again twenty minutes later, but got the same result. After another five tries he grew anxious, because now that he thought about it Kisara had been distant lately, and if he really examined all of their interactions, he realized that she'd shied from his touch, too.

And maybe it was because of the hour, or the fact that it was the end of the month and he was under too much pressure, it could've been neither of those two or just the fact that he'd had one too many people on his life stabbing him in the back or leaving after he'd trusted them. First his relatives, then Pegasus, the big five, and even his rival, Atem. All of them without explanation, not that it made any difference.

For whatever reason it was, Seto found himself driving through Domino's streets to Kisara's house. His hands hurt from holding the wheel to tight, and was tempted to just ignore a couple of red lights. There were too many cars, their horns making his ears ring.

The house was big, not as big as Seto's but bigger than average, surrounded by plants and an artistic metal fence that blocked most of the view. Most of the lights were on so he just pressed the bell.

Kisara opened the wood door of her house a couple seconds later. She didn't even stop to see who it was, choosing to keep running to the front, opening it just enough for her to get half of her body out. The icy breeze of the winter hit Seto and he wondered how could Kisara stand there without a sweater or anything to cover her up besides of a long sleeved shirt and sweatpants?

Kisara frowned after realizing who it was. Her nose was red; shivers constantly going through her body.

"Seto… what are you doing here?" she asked, casting a brief look over her shoulder.

"You turned off your cellphone." He replied flatly.

Kisara blinked slowly. She opened her mouth to say something, a sneeze cutting her off. She turned and raised her elbow before setting her eyes on Seto once again "Sorry; yes, I turned it off. Was there something you need?"

Seto's eyes roamed her, she was trembling now, her eyes as red as her nose, a couple of tissues peeking from the pocket of her sweatpants.

"Yes, we need to talk. But not here." He gave her a look, telling her to let him in but she just casted another glance to her house.

"Sure, do you mind if we do it tomorrow, though?" Kisara said, biting her chapped lips.

Seto scowled. It wasn't like this was his first time on her house and she'd never had a problem until now, so what was so important to hide for her to stand in the cold when she was clearly sick?

"I'm busy tomorrow." He replied, pushing the door open and walking to her house.

Kisara yelped, running to catch up with him "Wait, Seto. Just wait a second, would you?" She said, her voice hoarse. Her hand came to rest on Seto's bicep, bringing him to a halt. "I can't right now, ok? We can talk tomorrow or the day after if you're that busy, but I really can't right now." She pleaded.

Seto rolled his eyes "I have a company to run, Kisara. What's your excuse?" He yanked his arm free, opening her front door just to be stopped again by Kisara's hand. She moved to stand between Seto and the barely open door.

"I'm not making up excuses!" Kisara hissed.

A voice upstairs prevented Seto's reply. "Who is it?" It was a woman's voice.

Kisara closed her eyes, turning to her house "One of the neighbor's kid, his football landed in our yard and we're looking for it!" She screamed as well as her sick throat allowed her to.

There was a groan upstairs "Why do kids have to play so damn late? I swear they just…" Seto didn't catch whatever she said next, her voice growing farther away. A door was slammed close somewhere and Kisara jumped before heaving a deep sigh. She closed the door as softly as possible then turned to Seto.

Seto didn't even wait for her to fully face him to start walking back to his car.

"Seto, where are you going?" Kisara whispered, walking just a step behind.

"You haven't told your parents." Seto stated, keeping his back to her.

"I… Is it really that much of a deal?" Kisara chuckled nervously. It was obvious she was attempting to lighten up the mood, but it backfired. Horribly.

Seto turned to her, all harsh eyes and clenched jaw as he straightened, his full length towering over Kisara's smaller frame.

"I presented you to my brother, the only person I have left, what the hell do you think?!"

Kisara looked down "I'm sorry. It's just."

"I don't care." Seto snapped.

Kisara raised her glassy eyes to meet his. "What?"

"You don't have to worry anymore, because you won't have anything to tell them." Seto scowled harder as the first tears started to spill from Kisara eyes.

"I… Seto, just please listen to me, please."

"I thought you didn't have time for talking."

"I don't..." she muttered defeated "but, just wait, ok? Just go to your house and calm down and think about it and we can talk about it later? Please?"

Seto didn't respond, he just left. He ignored her hushed pleas and slammed the door of his car shut, effectively shutting up her voice.

When Seto arrived to the manor his ears were still buzzing, his head throbbing.

He was so unbearably angry. He couldn't believe it, first Kisara acts distant for a week, then she completely ignores him and, as the cherry on the top, she denies him after months of seemingly hiding him from her parents. All of this after Seto had opened himself for her. He'd ditched every rule in his book, every freaking wall he created after Atem's departure, after he'd decided that trusting people just wasn't worthy, and let her in. She'd met Mokuba for fuck's sake!

Seto threw the lamp on his bedside table to his wall, the crude sound it made as it broke worsening his headache.

He sat on the edge of his bed, putting his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands.

This is why he didn't let people in, they were just trouble, especially now that he had so much to do. He'd been an idiot for trusting her so fast, for falling so hard in such little time. He should've… he didn't even know what he should've done but, definitely not repeating this same mistake again. Fuck he was supposed to be smarter than this!

-o-o-o-

Neither Kisara nor Ryo appeared on school the next day. Seto ignored Yugi and the gang's attempts to question him about it. He stood up and left during lunch. To be honest, he'd only gone that day with the hopes of seeing Kisara. It was stupid, he didn't want to make up or anything, but she'd been a lot of time out while sick, and he was, admittedly, a little worried. It just fueled his anger, why was he worrying about someone who obviously didn't care?

Kisara hadn't called him yesterday, even though she had pleaded in front of him, nor had she tried to communicate in any way.

-o-o-o-

Seto's heart skipped a beat when the doors to his office opened. He groaned when he saw Bakura Ryo standing in front of him.

"What do you want?" Seto asked, annoyed with himself for hoping.

Ryo was shaking, his fists balled on his sides. "Are you insane?" He finally asked, voice tight.

Seto lifted an eyebrow, who would've though the kid had and attitude after all? "Whatever this is about, I don't have time so leave before I kick you out." He deadpanned.

Ryo ran a hand through his hair. "Of course you don't have time to talk, but you're full of free time when it comes to causing Kisara problems. Like she doesn't have enough with her own, now she has to deal with your trust issues. What happened with not wanting to hurt her?"

"Listen, this is none of your business. I'll give you three seconds to leave willingly and I won't repeat myself again." Seto said, he stood and walked to Ryo until he could stare down at him.

If he was bothered by it, Ryo didn't show it. "It becomes my business when you hurt my best friend to the point she's unable to go to class. And you're lucky it's monday or she'd have gotten hypothermia for going to school that sick."

"What does the day have to do with anything?"

Ryo stopped and blinked, he broke their stare his eyes moving rapidly across the room, concentrating on something. "What did she tell you?"

Seto scoffed, so this little idiot not only decided to come and make a riot in his office, no, he also did it completely uninformed of the situation. "What? Didn't your best friend tell you?"

Ryo kept looking around, as if trying to remember something. "Yeah, she said something about being selfish and stupid." His face got red as he recalled the events, the fury setting back in his eyes. "You made Kisara Asakawa, the most selfless person I know besides Yugi, feel selfish."

Seto rolled his eyes, the start of a new headache starting to creep through his temples. "Yes, well, maybe she's not as selfless as you think."

Ryo's eyes hardened "She's given you everything she has."

"No, I gave her everything I had and she just took it all, and at no point did she think about reciprocating. And I'm not saying this again, Bakura, get out of my office or I swear." Seto took a step forward, but, contrary to what he'd expected, Ryo didn't back off.

Ryo crossed his arms in front of his chest, his mouth pressed in a thin line. "What are you even talking about? She defended you from Jou and everyone who knows you're an asshole and has voiced it, she made you lunches and bent her schedule so she could see you outside the school every day. Compared to her, the only thing you did was introducing her to Mokuba…" Ryo stopped abruptly, his arms drooped to his sides while his fist shook so hard Seto thought he'd actually try to hit him "You're kidding. You must be kidding." he rubbed his face with both hands "Really? I thought you had history with child abuse, or that you were smart at least."

"What's your point?"

Ryo smiled bitterly "I really, really want to tell you to never get near her again, like you've got no idea of how much I want to, but she loves you so much I don't think she can't quit you right now. She's about to fall back into depression and she can't afford that right now. Not when the universities applications are due so soon. She needs to get in and she needs to get that scholarship." Part of Seto wanted to stop Ryo's rant just on the principle that he hated when people rambled, but whatever he was saying, as incomprehensible as it was, seemed to be important. Ryo locked his eyes with Seto's again "Listen, I probably shouldn't tell you what I'm about to tell you, it's really not my place, but I won't let Kisara get hurt anymore, I can't lose her. She's my best friend." He took a deep breath, letting it out as slowly as it was humanly possible "She's been distant, I know, I've noticed; but it hasn't been only with you. Her parents are fighting, and they're the scum of the earth in human form, but they're so in love with each other, they barely ever notice Kisara, let alone bother her. But now that they're angry with each other, both of them have decided to use Kisara as their personal punching bag. They usually work all day during weekdays and go out on weekends, but now Kisara's had to deal with them day after day after day and the last time those two fought Kisara ended up…" Ryo ran a hand through his hair. "She needs us, she doesn't need this drama and she doesn't need her boyfriend making her feel bad about not telling those assholes about him. She needs us to be there to keep her whole, to prevent her from falling apart again. She needs you."

Seto just stared at him, his brain struggling to understand what the hell had he just heard "They're abusing her?" Ryo shook his head in disbelief, whoever said Seto Kaiba was the smart one was so wrong. "Why hasn't she said anything?"

"Did you say anything about your stepfather?"

"I didn't mean to me, I meant to the authorities."

"So did I." Ryo sighed "The thing is, these two aren't stupid, they have never raised a hand on Kisara, but that doesn't lessen the level of psychological abuse she's suffered since she was a child."

Seto looked down at his carpeted floor. It was an ugly carpet he thought.

He took a couple steps back until he was able to lean on his desk. "Her parents are probably back already."

Ryo nodded "I'll try to calm her down and convince her to tell you herself about all of her situation and you can talk to her tomorrow. She's getting better, it wasn't a strong cold so she'll be back to school by tomorrow. Just, try not to tell her I told you."

Seto wanted to ask Ryo why did he tell him, but he could see it in the shake of his hands, the tenseness of his shoulder, Kisara was very important to Ryo and he'd been clearly scared of something happening to her. He thought for a second about it. "You're a good friend."

"And you're a crappy boyfriend." Ryo said.

-o-o-o-

Kisara looked significantly brighter the next day, it made things easier for Seto.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked her during lunch. The entire gang stopped their conversation and turned to him "Outside."

Kisara just stared at him for a moment before nodding.

"Is everything okay?" She asked once they were in the gardens.

Seto looked at her, her nose wasn't red anymore, and her eyes were white on the edges, instead of red. She kept them fixed on the plants around them, though.

"I shouldn't have gone that late to your house." Seto started. His hands were clammy with sweat and his right food kept bouncing on the floor. He wasn't used to apologize, especially not to someone who wasn't Mokuba.

Kisara shook her head "I shouldn't have denied you. Sorry about that." She looked down at her hands, they rested on her lap fidgeting with one another. "My parents work most of the day, so I hadn't gotten the chance. It was wrong of me."

Knowing what he did, Seto didn't really feel that she should. And he wanted to tell her that, and that they were okay, but he decided to give her the chance to tell him herself. "Why didn't you tell them, Kisara?"

Kisara bit her lips "I guess I'm just selfish."

"No, you're not." Kisara tuned to him for the first time. She studied Seto's face. She seemed to have found what she was looking for, for she just closed her eyes and started to talk.

"My parents… I didn't want to anger them, you know? They don't think I'm mature enough to date and I don't like to anger them."

"You're afraid of them."

Kisara's eyes snapped open. "No, why would I? They are my parents, and they've never raised a hand to me, you know? They're just strict, because parents are always strict, but it's just because they want the best for me. They always say I can be better and I know I can and" Kisara moistened her lips, a tear rolling down her face as her voice broke "I didn't want to disappoint them. And in doing so I hurt, and I'm sorry, I guess they're right, you know? They keep saying I just don't think things through and I should've told you or them I was just… I mean I wasn't afraid but… But." Kisara sobbed. She rested her elbows on her knees and buried her head on her hands.

Seto let her cry it out. He rubbed gentle circles on her back, whispering that she'd be okay, that they were okay, assuring her that he was there, and he loved her so much.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You wanted to talk about something and I just…" she sobbed "I don't even know why I'm crying so much."

"You're allowed to cry, Kisara."

She shook her head, her white strands moving with her "No, they're my parents, they've given me everything I need and I don't know why I'm such a drama queen and let this affect me so much? Why am I so sensible that I can't take a damn critic?"

"Because those aren't critics, Kisara. They're hurting you. They might've given you every material thing the government demands them to, but it's obvious they haven't given you time, or encouragement."

Kisara shook her head harder "You don't understand, they're my parents, okay?" She wiped her face, even as more tears appeared "They're my family, they love me."

Seto mulled it over. Then he remembered something Jounouchi had once said. It had just been a comment about a show and Kisara hadn't been there. But it had still stuck on his head "You always say family doesn't end with blood. But what you haven't understood is that it doesn't start there either. Your family is the people who care for you, the ones that are there for you and that will want to see you happy no matter what." Kisara was staring at him and Seto took the opportunity to help her wipe the tears off her face with his thumbs. He cupped her face on his hands as softly as she always did with him "You deserve to be happy, to be cared for. And your parents don't sound like that, at all."

Kisara hugged him as hard as she could. Her tears soaked his jacket all the way to his shirt. Seto didn't care. He held her, even after lunch was over, he held her, for as long as she needed.

-o-o-o

"I'm helping you with university, so you can move out." Seto told her one day. He was working on his office while Kisara reread her book for the end of the assignment.

It was amazing that a year had already gone by.

Kisara put the book down, resting it on her lap. "Seto."

"No." He cut her off, knowing fully well she'd try to reject his help. "You're going to go to college and move out of that house before they drive you crazy."

"You're overreacting." Kisara sighed shaking her head.

"No, you're underreacting."

It made her chuckle, and Seto counted it as a win. "I can't let you waste your money on me, Seto."

He knew that there were a thousand answers he could give but every single one seemed to lead to a larger argument. Seto looked at the book on her lap and smirked "What would you do if it were me the one in your position?"

Kisara played with the edge of the book, bending it "That's not fair."

Seto waited.

She frowned and pursed her lips. "I'll think about it." She caressed the front of the book, taking a deep breath before smiling around the exhale.

Whe Kisara turned to him her eyes showed nothing but pure love and devotion and Seto wanted nothing more but to drown in them.

"You're welcome." Seto said with a smile, going back to his computer. He could, however, see Kisara's gaze trained on him from the corner of his eyes.

-o-o-o-

Seto observed as Kisara drew on her notebook, it was just a couple of hearts and, what looked like, an almost failed attempt at a Blue Eyes White Dragon. She smiled when their eyes met. Seto returned the smile easily.

His classmates' voices washed through them, but neither teen paid them any mind. Today they were turning their new book reports. Seto'd tried to read Kisara's, but it turned out that it really, really wasn't his thing. The moment the second half started, after a nine years jump, with a phone call to the guy saying his lover was sick and about to die in the hospital, Seto closed it. He couldn't help but agreed with Kisara's first impression of "who would willingly submit themselves to this?"

"Kisara," the voice of the teacher brought them back from each other's gaze "you're next." She said around a smile.

Kisara nodded to the teacher. She stood in one smooth movement, and walked to the front.

She smiled at Ryo, who gave a thumbs up, and settled her eyes on Seto.

"First I'd like to tell you that reading this book again was torture and I hate myself for choosing it." Everyone laughed and she took the opportunity to check out her notes for the last time. "It's a beautiful story and I finally understood the beauty of accepting that pain and just going with the flow. I'd submit to this tragedy at least another time so, I guess I finally answered that question." Kisara took a deep breath, putting her hands behind her back and holding them together. She imagined it was Seto's hand holding hers "Rereading the happy scenes was even worse than rereading the sad ones, but it really taught me a lot about how much I've changed on just this year. Now I know that, yes, it was worthy; spending time with your soul mate will always be worthy. Also the first time I read it I couldn't understand, why, if they loved each other so much, would he leave? Why not let his partner help him? But, upon a second reading, I realized he'd hidden things from his lover in order to be what he thought they needed. He thought he always needed to be the rock, the one who's strong and can solve everything, and didn't realize that a real relationship is an exchange. Also I'd say that, in my opinion, the goal of the task was accomplished because I finally understood the authors' intentions and how they showed that love isn't a straight line, it doesn't stay the same forever, it changes as you change, but it's always there, in whatever shape it takes, it's fateful as the sea and that's all that matters."

"Thank you, Kisara." The teacher beamed at her "Well done."

"Thank you."

Kisara's eyes were gleaming and Seto fought the urge to kiss her. He settled for just holding her hand when she made it back to her seat.

* * *

You have no idea how hard it is to convince a person who is being abused that they're in fact being abused and not just overreacting. I dealt with that with a lot of my friends, some of them had abusive boyfriends, some others abusive parents, some had toxic friends, but that was the thing that's always constant. So if you ever wondered if you're being abused while nervous/anxious/sad, chances are that you are.

Also I just can't see Kisara with a nice childhood(while I'm writing a fic where she does and has lovely parents but I put her through a lot of shit so...) which is why this just happened. also she reminds me a lot of a friend who was abused by her father but she was the kindest, sweetest girl ever.

Of course there's also the fact I can't imagine Seto not having doubts after well, everyone left him.

I hope you didn't hate this, and if you did, well I'm sorry, but you can always think of it as a one-shot.

Thanks for reading!

Love you!

(PS: the book she read is actually an AU from other fandom that I'm rereading and it's Killing me)


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